Visa Update #1: The Very First Step

Okay; as thrilling and informative as that mayonnaise post was, I am now going to post about something slightly more important: today I started my Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa application (for anyone who needs a refresher, here is my visa timeline).

I have no major or exciting news to report about it; I just spent a long time entering a lot of basic information and uploaded a few documents (including my passport and the “police check,” aka FBI rap sheet). But because one of the reasons I started this blog was to document my entire visa journey, I’m going to document my entire visa journey. Who knows; maybe someday someone who is on a similar path will stumble across my blog and find it helpful.

I was relieved to discover that Immigration New Zealand has the sort of applications that you can tackle in bits and pieces and save as you go, rather than having to complete them in one fell swoop. You have to create a RealMe account (RealMe is a government authentication and identity verification service), which I did a while back so I honestly can’t remember what that entailed but I don’t think it was anything harrowing or I would remember it. Anyway, once you create your account, you just choose which visa you’re applying for and you’re off.

I tend to get a bit anxious when I have to fill out important forms, so you can imagine how stressed out I am about this one, considering how much hangs in the balance. I am honestly going to need hours upon hours to check my work before I submit it. I can’t tell you the number of times already that I’ve made sure that I spelled my name with one L and not two…..H-I-L-A-R-Y. H i l a r y. *squints at screen, puts on reading glasses* OK, one L. Phew. Wait….is that a second L?? The anxiety is real. 😰

The application is 10 pages in total (well; 9 pages and then you sign the 10th page). There’s a lot packed into those 9 pages, and I already have a number of questions, so I just used my fancy c. 1992 burner phone I bought (more on that in a future post) to call Immigration NZ for clarification. FYI, if you are in New Zealand and need to contact Immigration about your not-yet-submitted visa application, it’s a little confusing to find the correct, working phone number. The correct phone number to call is 09-914-4100. Choose option 3 and then option 2. It will ask you to enter your client ID; if you don’t have one yet, just stay on the line. Heads up: their hold music is abysmal.

After about five minutes of being on hold, an absolutely lovely woman from Immigration came on the line and could not have been kinder and more good-natured about my questions. She didn’t know the exact answers offhand to several of them and asked to place me on a brief pause while she double checked. I said she could take her time and she said “Oh, I shan’t be doing that, our hold music is quite awful and I don’t want you to have to stay on the line more than is necessary.” 😂

Here are the questions I had, with her responses in bold:

When it asks for my employment history, how far back are we talking? Past three years? Five? Ten? As far back as you can remember.

When it asks how long I plan to stay in NZ total, it gives me the options of 6 months or less, 6-12 months, 12-24 months, or 24+ months. My goal is to be able to stay forever, but I’m currently here on a visitor visa which expires April 1st. Which option should I put? 24+ months.

I think I am required to get a general medical exam and a chest x-ray but I want to double check that. Because I plan to stay more than 12 months, I am required to have both done. However, if I can’t get appointments before I need to submit my visa application, I can upload proof that I have appointments booked. Once I’ve been to the appointments and have the results, I call Immigration and they will walk me through how to link them to my application. UPDATE (March 2024): You are also required to have bloodwork done.

Under the section where I am asked to upload all of my documents, what do they mean by an “identification card”? Would that be my MA driver’s license? This is not one of the required fields, so I can choose to leave it blank, or I can upload some form of ID (it sounds like they may possibly be interested in seeing my Social Security Number, so I’ll upload that).

I also wanted to know how many people I can/should put down when the form asks me to put “Names and address of any friends, relatives, or contacts you have in New Zealand.” I posted this question to two different Facebook groups I’m in, Americans Coming to Aotearoa and Moving to New Zealand: Immigration Support; the general consensus was to put down three different contacts. They apparently ask for this information in the event that you go off grid and need to be tracked down. Otherwise, the friends/family you put down shouldn’t be contacted by Immigration.

I am going to submit my application in mid-March, once Stewart and I have established a paper trail of proof of our partnership…my name added to the lease, one of the utilities in my name, joint bank account. I’m glad I’m starting early.

Just for extra measure, I am also going to apply for my New Zealand driver’s license in the next few weeks. I can legally drive on my U.S. license for one year here, but there’s nothing saying I can’t get it now, and the more solid evidence I have that I live here, the better. I have to go to one of the VTNZ (“Vehicle Testing New Zealand”) locations that provides the overseas license conversion service, the nearest of which is 2.5 hours away in Hamilton (there are a number of locations in Auckland, which is also 2.5 hours away, but I’m not ready to drive myself around NZ’s largest city). Because I have had a full U.S. driver’s licence for more than two years, I can apply for and convert to a New Zealand licence without any written or road test. I just have to fill out a simple two-page form and bring in some supporting documents. It will cost me $144.60 NZD (roughly $88 USD) to convert my license, and yes, I’ll be able to keep my U.S. license. And yes, I promise I will post about my car soon!

I am celebrating the conclusion of my first day of working on my work visa (work visa work?) with a glass of my favorite (so far) NZ wine. Highly, highly recommended if you folks back home can find it!

Thanks for coming along with me on this journey.

H-I-L-A-R-Y ❤️